Back In Time
by kristanella17
Summary: Kendall Cooper is a present day SHIELD Agent who goes back in time to the year 1943, so she can protect Steve Rogers and the super soldier serum from getting into the wrong hands. During her assignment events happen that effect Steve Rogers's life almost 70 years later. Steve Rogers/OC
1. Chapter 1

"Trouble sleeping, Cap?" Nick Fury called out as he made his entrance into the gym where Steve was working out. Steve paused his boxing for a brief moment before continuing.

"I've had my fill," Steve replied shortly, never taking his eyes off the punching bag. Fury took a few more steps until he reached the super soldier.

"It's time, Rogers," Fury simply informed causing Steve to come to a halt. Taking a deep breath, Steve walked over to his gym bag as he began unraveling his hand wraps.

"So you're finally going to let me see her?" Steve countered, still ignoring eye contact. Ever since he had woken up from defrosting a few weeks prior, Nick Fury and other SHIELD agents had been preventing him from visiting or even speaking with Kendall. To Steve, the memories of 1943 were still fresh in his mind as well as the woman who had assisted him along the way, but according to Fury, Kendall's mission involving time travel had not even been assigned to her yet.

"Rogers, you know why you couldn't go directly to her. You needed time, and she doesn't even know you; at least, not like you know her," Director Fury replied, his voice coated with a hint of sympathy. Steve nodded in understanding although he still wasn't content with the situation.

"But now I'm afraid it's time. You're bound to cross paths in the coming days. We're phoning in all the big guns," Fury informed as he opened a file and began to show Steve the details of their mission.

Steve flipped through all the various pages of personal profiles containing unique individuals similar to himself but stopped once he came across Kendall's. He took extra time to examine her profile before looking back up to the director.

"What do I do when I see her?" Steve asked as they closed the files and began walking towards the exit of the building.

"Do what you always do when you meet someone for the first time; introduce yourself," Fury smirked. "A debriefing packet was left at your apartment. We'll keep in touch."


	2. Chapter 2

**Post attack on New York**

"Director Fury, you wanted to see me, sir?" Kendall asked as she made her way into her boss's office. It had been a few weeks after the attack on New York, and although the incident took a toll on her physically as well as mentally, Kendall was ready to get back to work.

"Yes," Fury said, standing from his desk and handing the agent a file, "I have a special mission for you, Coop."

Kendall opened the file to find multiple documents concerning Steve Rogers and the Super Soldier program that was conceived in the 1940s. Her brows furrowed in concern as she quickly glanced over the papers.

"I'm sorry, but I might be missing something here," Kendall started, looking up from the file, "Steve Rogers is the mission, sir?" she asked hesitantly. A sick feeling began forming in the pit of her stomach as she thought of having to confront Steve. Not only did she and Steve work well together during their time in New York, but she couldn't help but think they had grown fairly close.

"I'm afraid so," Nick replied, "Have you heard of a fellow agent named Grant Ward?"

Kendall nodded, her eyes slightly narrowing at the memory of her brief, yet unpleasant interaction with Agent Ward.

"I've met him once or twice; never had the _pleasure_ of working with him though," she answered, unable to hide the slight sarcasm in her voice. Fury smirked at her reply.

"Good judge of character," he commented before continuing, "it seems we had a double agent on our hands. Ward discovered some new tech we've been working on...," Fury paused as he pulled a small object out from the top drawer of his desk. He then stood, walked over to Kendall and opened his hand.

In the palm of Nick Fury's hand was a circular metal item with a few buttons and a center dial like one on a safe lock.

"This is what we've been working on, Cooper. It allows the person controlling it to go forward or back in time. It seems Ward got word on the discovery and broke into one of our facilities to steal it. Fortunately for us, he was unaware we have a second. Now, I have serious reason to believe Grant Ward has gone back in time in hopes to steal the Super Soldier serum intended for Steve Rogers..."

"Why me?" Kendall quickly interrupted. "Why not Nat or May?" Although she successfully assisted in saving the world in an attack from space, Kendall was still somewhat new to being an agent compared to many others.

Fury smirked confidently once more as he held out the time traveling control to the agent standing in front of him.

"Because this mission was made for you, Kendall."


	3. Chapter 3

Kendall arrived in 1943 to find herself standing alone in an alleyway. She looked around in awe, amazed the time controller in her hand had actually worked. As she slowly began to walk towards the busy street ahead she heard the sound of a door slamming open and tin trash cans being scattered about.

Startled by the noise, Kendall quickly turned around in time to see a shorter man stand back up from the garbage holding his hands up like he was preparing for a fist fight. With one punch to the face, the smaller guy was knocked down again.

"Hey!" Kendall shouted out in anger as she rushed to stop the incident. The bigger guy smirked proudly to himself, giving his victim one last huff before hurrying out of the alley.

"Are you ok?" Kendall worriedly asked as the young man managed to get back up on his feet.

"Yeah," he mumbled disappointedly while looking down at his clothes to brush them off.

The breath caught in Kendall's throat as she realized the identity of the young man standing before her. Unlike the last time she had seen him, Steve now stood eye to eye with the petite girl as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Oh, here," Kendall quickly offered, snapping back into reality and reaching into her bag to pull out a handkerchief. Steve took the small piece of fabric with the slightest hint of a smile.

"Thanks," he quietly replied before dabbing the wound on his lip.

There was an awkward silence between the two as Steve nursed his injury and Kendall mentally debated on whether or not she should introduce herself. Before leaving for her mission, Fury had clearly stated not to get involved in Steve's personal life, but not even five minutes into it Kendall had already broken that rule.

"I'm Kendall, by the way," she introduced as she lifted her hand. Steve's eyes locked on the outstretched hand before looking back up to Kendall.

"Steve," he replied hesitantly as the two shook hands.

"I should've known it was you," a new voice called out causing Kendall to quickly release Steve's hand and turn towards the newcomer. A taller man dressed in an army uniform made his way over to the two.

"Heard some fat-head was having a fight out here. Why does it always involve you, Steve?" the man teased as he took notice of Steve's busted lip. Steve shook his head, taking a glance towards Kendall out of the corner of his eye.

"Excuse me, where are my manners," the uniformed man corrected himself as he turned towards Kendall, "James Barnes," he introduced with a flirtatious grin. Kendall nodded politely in reply.

"Don't let him fool you, he goes by Bucky," Steve corrected causing Kendall to snicker.

"Kendall," she replied kindly still wearing an amused grin. A knowing smirk grew on Bucky's face as he took a quick glance between his friend and the woman standing next to him.

"Say, Kendall, tonight my pal Steve and I are heading to the World Exposition of Tomorrow. Since it's my last night, I invited a dame to join me. How would you feel about keeping Steve company for me?"

Kendall's eyes widened at the proposition. It was one thing to offer a handkerchief, surely she could get away with just one small kind gesture, but this was something totally different.

"Buck, don't. I'm sure she has something better to do," Steve intervened as he reached forward to take his friend by the arm. The detached tone of his voice almost made Kendall's heart break. The Steve she knew was so different from the guy standing next to her in the alleyway.

Determination to help Steve find some self confidence took over as Kendall spoke before thinking.

"Wait," she quickly called out. Both men turned to look at her with surprised facial expressions. "I'm actually free tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

**Pre Attack on New York**

Steve exited the plane with Agent Coulson as soon as it landed. He thought he would have more time to mentally prepare himself before seeing Kendall, but she and another female agent were already patiently waiting for Coulson's arrival.

"Agent Romanoff, Agent Cooper; Captain Rogers," Phil Coulson introduced. Natasha Romanoff nodded before speaking.

"Hi," she said shortly to Steve before turning to Coulson, "They need you on the bridge. We might want to hurry. Things were getting pretty heated when I got out of there."

"On it. Cooper, how about you show Captain Rogers around?" Coulson suggested while already walking away.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Captain," Kendall smiled as she held out her hand.

Steve couldn't help but stare at the woman standing in front of him. She looked different from the last time he had seen her. Besides the slight physical difference of a change in hairstyle, Kendall appeared to carry herself a bit more timidly than he remembered from their previous encounters.

"Call me, Steve," he replied with a grin of his own, tenderly grasping hold of her hand.

Steve, too distracted by his thoughts, continued to gaze at Kendall as the duration of their handshake extended longer than normal. Kendall's smile grew, letting out a small chuckle at the awkward situation. Steve immediately withdrew his hand and quietly cleared his throat to assist in composing himself.

"Alright Steve, how about I show you around?" Kendall asked. She then turned her back to him and nodded her head indicating for him to follow. It took Steve a few quick steps before the two were walking side by side.

"I hope this isn't too overwhelming," Kendall commented once she was done showing Steve around the surface of the base. He walked leisurely with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Actually, this is the first time I've felt at home since coming out of the ice," he confessed, taking a quick glance out of the corner of his eye towards the woman standing beside him. The sincerity of his voice made Kendall's heart clinch.

* * *

 **1943**

"What am I doing? This is crazy, I shouldn't be here. I'm going to screw everything up," Kendall mumbled to herself as she nervously paced back and forth at the entrance to the exposition.

As time passed that afternoon, realization began to sink in that there could be severe consequences of her actions. She began second guessing whether or not she should even show for the date, but Kendall convinced herself that ditching Steve would cause more damage than was already done. Besides, in her time, she and Steve were friends and she was determined not to let him down.

"Everything will be fi-," Kendall was mid-mumble as she turned and bumped directly into Steve, slightly knocking him back a half step.

"Oh! Sorry!" she blushed in embarrassment as she reflexively lifted her hand up, preparing to keep him from falling to the ground if needed. Steve chuckled in response with a small shake of his head.

"It's fine," he smiled. The two stared at one another for a few seconds before Steve spoke again.

"You, uh, look nice," he complimented in a nervous rush. A true smile immediately broke out across Kendall's face as all her second guessing instantly faded away.

"Thank you. I'm glad you found me. There's so many people here I was beginning to think I was waiting in the wrong spot," she said, hoping to open up some form of small talk.

"Sorry about the wait. It can happen sometimes with him," Steve explained before glancing over his shoulder. Kendall followed his line of sight to see Bucky holding hands and whispering with a girl who was flirtatiously giggling.

Smiling at the happy couple, Kendall looked back to Steve to find him glancing at her.

"It's fine," she reassured as she took the liberty of clasping her hand around the bend of Steve's elbow and walking them over to Bucky and his date.

"Kendall," Bucky greeted enthusiastically, "so glad you could make it," he said before introducing his date for the evening.

"You know," Bucky began once more as the four made their way into the expo, "I heard Howard Stark's newest invention is going to revolutionize the automobile industry."

"Howard Stark?" Kendall asked curiously, trying her best to fight away an excited grin. She was awestruck by the thought of getting to see Tony's father's work first hand.

"Have you not heard of him?" Steve asked as he turned to face her. Kendall couldn't help but laugh at the question.

"That's not it. I'm just excited to see his work in person; that's all," she replied honestly. Steve nodded, but remained silent as Bucky and his date chatted away.

Sensing Steve was still a bit nervous, Kendall decided to try to get him to open up. She tugged slightly at his elbow where her hand still rested causing him to slow his pace so Bucky and his date could take a few steps ahead.

"I'm really happy to be here with you, Steve," Kendall quietly confessed, leaning in closer to Steve so he could hear her over the music being played. Steve smiled delightedly at the comment as he turned to face her again.

"I'm glad you actually agreed to come," he replied with a small chuckle before they made their way to the stage, catching up with the couple ahead of them.

The crowd cheered as the lights dimmed and Howard Stark made his appearance on stage. He waved to the crowd zealously before kissing one of the showgirls on the lips.

Kendall scoffed and rolled her eyes at the meaningless gesture. Steve watched her reaction out of the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but grin at her disdain for the gaudy entrance.

"Alright, Steve," Bucky started as the four made their way toward the exit after Howard Stark's presentation, "how about we treat these girls with a night out of dancing?" Bucky grinned causing his date to giggle excitedly. She then took his hand and raced ahead a few steps leaving Steve and Kendall alone again.

"They're cute," Kendall thought aloud while wearing a fond smile. As she and Steve walked closely side by side, Steve's hand lightly grazed hers as if silently asking permission to take hold of it. Her smile softened as she looked up at Steve and pulled his hand into hers, interlacing their fingers in the process.

"Are you, uh, having a good time?" Steve asked, obviously a bit flustered by the innocent display of affection. Kendall chuckled at his nervousness.

"I am. I hope you are as well," she replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze as the two passed by a recruiting station.

Kendall watched as Steve's attention slowly drifted towards the entrance of the building, and her heart clenched knowing this was the moment she had to say goodbye. No more interfering with Steve's life. She had a mission to do and she was allowing herself to get distracted.

"Why don't you give it a try?" Kendall suggested, gently nudging Steve's arm with hers. He quickly looked back to her, surprised by the suggestion.

"I-I can't. I can't just leave you," Steve replied, his brows furrowing at her suggestion. Kendall replied with an adoring smile before taking his other hand in hers as well and pulling him closer to the entrance of the station.

"Go, I'll be fine. It can't hurt to try, right? And if for some reason you don't get accepted we'll go out for that dance," Kendall encouraged. A reluctant smile formed across Steve's lips before he leaned in and placed a soft kiss upon her cheek.

"I'll see you soon," he quietly replied as he pulled away. Kendall blushed, surprised by the sweet gesture. She gave his hands another gentle squeeze as he took a deep breath of courage.

Hesitantly, Steve let go of Kendall's hands so he could make his way into the recruitment center.


	5. Chapter 5

**Pre Attack on New York**

"Captain, you're up," Nick Fury instructed after the facial recognition software aboard the helicarrier alerted a positive match for Loki's whereabouts.

"Come on," Kendall began as she lightly touched Steve's elbow to grab his attention, "I'll show you to your suit," she offered. Steve nodded, redirecting his focus from the computer screen to the woman now standing only a few inches from him.

"So, has Coulson asked you to autograph his collection of Captain America trading cards yet?" Kendall questioned with a grin, attempting to make lighthearted small talk as they made their way towards the equipment room where the Captain America suit was located. Steve looked over to her with furrowed brows.

"No. Should I be expecting that?" he replied with a hint of humor in his voice. Kendall's laugh caused Steve to smile fondly down at her. He watched her every move as she spoke, seemingly mesmerized by simply her presence.

"Oh, definitely. He's very proud of the set," she teased, looking back up to him. Steve lightly chuckled as he nodded in understanding.

"Thanks for the warning," he continued to smile. The way he looked at her, with his soft gaze, began to cause Kendall to grow somewhat flustered. She quickly averted her eyes away from his as she tried to subtly regain her composure.

Steve instantly took notice in the change of Kendall's body language. Thoughts drifted to mind that he had possibly made her uncomfortable with his curious glances, but it was so difficult for him not to stare. He had been waiting to see her for months, and now here she was standing right beside him but he had to pretend like they had only just met a few moments ago.

As Steve's mind ran wild, the two finally made it to the equipment room where his suit was displayed like an artifact in a museum. All worries involving Kendall seemed to disappear when he laid eyes on his shield.

From beside him, Kendall slowly glanced out of the corner of her eye to watch Steve's reaction to seeing his old uniform. The lighthearted feeling the air disappeared as Steve stared at the display case with a reminiscent expression across his face.

"I'll leave you to it, Cap't," Kendall whispered, regretfully interrupted Steve's memories to make her departure.

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone. Today, the world lost its best defender. I am truly heartbroken over the passing of Stan Lee, and I really wanted to publish something today in his memory even if it is extremely short. I will try to update a longer chapter within the next day or so, but until then I want to leave you with my favorite cameo of Stan's: Spider-Man 3, "You know, I guess one person can make a difference. Enough said."

Excelsior!


	6. Chapter 6

**Pre Attack on New York**

Kendall rested on the edge of her copilot seat in the Quinjet, nervously watching from over the control board as Steve confronted Loki below on the ground. She knew Steve could handle himself, she was confident in him, but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but worry.

Maybe it was because this was her first big mission, or maybe it was because no one besides Director Fury had ever seen her openly use her powers and her time was growing near, but Kendall couldn't fight the anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," Agent Romanoff ordered over the jet's intercom. Within a second, Loki responded by shooting a beam from his scepter at the aircraft forcing Romanoff to pull a sharp turn in attempt to dodge the attack.

Kendall grunted as she was thrown into the control panel by the sudden jerk of the ship.

"Told you to buckle up," Nat commented with an amused smirk, never taking her focus off the switch board. Kendall huffed in annoyance at the comment as she stood back up and rested her arm against one of the overhead support beams in preparation of another attack.

Turning her attention back to the battle down below, Kendall intently watched every move between the two men. When Loki smashed his scepter into Steve's stomach she worriedly looked over to Natasha.

"Not yet," Romanoff answered the unspoken question. Kendall inhaled deeply through her nose before deciding to walk away from the windshield, her nerves only growing worse as she paced back and forth.

"The guy's all over the place," Natasha said aloud to herself, "I can't get a read on them. Might be time for some backup, Coop," she called out from over her shoulder.

* * *

Landing discreetly a few feet from the scene, Kendall surveyed the situation to find Loki pinning Steve to the ground. He had managed to hook the end of his scepter to the back of Steve's helmet firmly forcing him in place.

"Kneel," Loki commanded through gritted teeth. Kendall's blood boiled at the sight before her. As she raised her hands, preparing for an attack, the water molecules in the air surrounding her began to freeze in the formation of an icicle in each of her palms. Aggressively, Kendall thrust the icicles toward Loki just narrowly missing him.

The surprise assault caused Loki to stumble a few steps back, releasing Steve in the process. Both men looked up to find Kendall furiously glaring at Loki. She remained still, standing with her hands held out in front of her defensively.

"Give us the scepter, Loki," Kendall firmly demanded. It took every ounce of her willpower not to steal a glance at Steve who, for some reason, still remained on the ground staring up at her.

Steve seemed momentarily paralyzed by Kendall's sudden display of powers. He thought he had known her. _He did know her_ , so how could she have kept something so important, such as having powers, a secret from him? His thoughts ran wild until the sound of Loki's voice brought him back to reality.

"Frosty, are we?" Loki sinisterly smirked in delight. "Didn't anyone tell you? I like the cold too," he commented as his skin slowly began to take on a bluish hue.

"No," Steve growled out as he jumped back to his feet, managing to land a roundhouse kick to Loki's face in the process; his skin immediately returning back to its original pale tone.

Steve quickly looked over to Kendall to check on her. Locking eyes with one another, Kendall gave Steve a reassuring nod before pointing her hands towards Loki once more.

As Steve opened his mouth to speak, the blaring sound of rock music filled the air. Tony Stark, donned in his Iron Man suit landed beside Kendall and lifted his hands to match her stance.

"I see you started the party without me," Iron Man arrogantly stated, the armor on his suit lifting to expose more weapons pointed at Loki. In response, the God of Mischief raised his hands in surrender finally admitting defeat.

* * *

"Just get him here. We're low on time," Fury ordered over the transmission. Kendall and Natasha exchanged a look before Kendall excused herself from the copilot seat.

"Has he said anything?" she asked in a hushed tone to Steve and Tony.

"Nothing, but you know what? I'm interested in you," Tony swiftly replied as he carefully took hold of Kendall's wrist to examine her hand. She subconsciously shrinked back in response, but Tony continued.

"Does the ice actually come out of you or do you manipulate the elements around you?" he questioned.

Kendall's stomach started to knot in response to the unwanted attention of her powers. She had never openly discussed them with anyone besides Nick Fury, and that was only because he had caught her using them once in a dire moment of need.

Steve quickly lifted his hand to place on top of Tony's armored forearm, firmly pulling it down and removing it from Kendall's.

"Can't you tell you're making her uncomfortable?" Steve scolded, narrowing his eyes in disdain. Tony furrowed his brows as he looked back and forth between Kendall and Steve.

"Excuse me. Simply curious is all," Tony apologized to Kendall before turning back to Steve, "it's just, you're not the only special one around here anymore, Rogers, but you might've missed that, being a Capsicle and all-"

"Ok, that's enough," Kendall firmly interrupted, but before she could continue a loud crack of thunder sounded followed by a bolt of lightning. The Quinjet began to shake with turbulence due to the increased wind from the oncoming storm.

"We'll talk about this later," Kendall informed with a finality to her voice as she looked back and forth between the two men before rushing back to her copilot seat to assist Agent Romanoff.


End file.
